, also known as King of Lew Chew, , or more officially , was the title held by several lineages in Okinawa Island from 1372 until the monarchy's dissolution in 1879.
According to the traditional official Okinawan narrative, the legendary ruler Shunten, who supposedly ascended to the throne in 1187, was first to hold the title. Additionally, the notion of a single-line of succession has been maintained despite the Crown clearly recognising several unrelated lineages acceding. However, the monarchy effectively started in 1372 when Satto greeted a Chinese envoy from the newly established Ming dynasty, although his son Bunei was the first to be officially recognized as the King of Chà «zan.
Shà  Tai was the final sovereign ruler of Ryukyu until his demotion in 1872 by the government of Meiji Japan to the title of Domain King (çÂÂçÂÂè©çÂÂ, Ryà «kyà «-han-à Â) and his forced abdication in 1879. He was inducted into the kazoku with the rank of marquess (侯çµ, Kà Âshaku), earning him a hereditary seat in the House of Peers, which his son later inherited. It is curious that Shà Â, a monarch, was given a rank lesser than that of some Japanese kuge and daimyo, such as the peasant turned prime minister Ità  Hirobumi who received the rank of prince (å ¬çµ, Kà Âshaku) in recognition for his achievements in the Meiji Restoration.
Mamoru Shà  is the current pretender to the Okinawan throne.
The earliest known form of the narrative dates to the reign of King Shà  Shin of the Second Shà  dynasty. A stone monument dated 1522 makes reference to "three dynasties of Shunten's, Eiso's and Satto's". His son King Shà  Sei expressed the line of succession in a slightly more elaborate form. The Katanohana Inscription (1543) reads: "Shà  Sei, King of Chà «zan of the Great State of Ryà «kyà «, ascended to the throne as the 21st king since Sonton [Shunten]" (大ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂå½ä¸Âå±±çÂÂå°Â渠ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã¨ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã®ãÂÂãÂÂäºÂÃ¥ÂÂä¸Â代ã®御ãÂÂãÂÂã²ãÂÂã¤ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã¡ã¸). Similarly, another stone monument dated 1597 states that Shà  Nei is the 24th king since Sonton [Shunten] (ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã¨ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã®ãÂÂãÂÂäºÂÃ¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã®ãÂÂãÂÂã®御ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂ...). The numbers of kings mentioned in these monuments agree with those of the official history books compiled much later although it is not clear whether the individual members were fixed at this stage.
Historian Dana Masayuki relates the notion of the line of succession to Buddhist temples where ancestral tablets of the deceased kings were stored. According to the Chà «zan Seifu, Manju-ji stored the ancestral tablets of Satto, Bunei, Shishà  and Shà  Hashi, while the tablets of Shà  Taikyà « and Shà  Toku were at Tenkai-ji. Shà  En, the founder of the Second Shà  dynasty, established Tennà Â-ji and designated it as the family mausoleum. It is not certain which temples were dedicated to the missing kings of the First Shà  dynasty, Shà  Chà «, Shà  Shitatsu, and Shà  Kinpuku. Nevertheless, each king performed "ancestral" worship for deceased kings from different dynasties in the presence of a Chinese envoy, presumably because they deceived the Chinese into thinking that the throne was normally succeeded from the father to the son.
According to the Ryà «kyà «-koku yuraiki (1713), Ryà «fuku-ji in Urasoe, in addition to the above-mentioned temples, served as the royal mausoleum. This temple stored inkstone tablets representing the deceased kings from Shunten to Shà  Hashi. According to the Chà «zan Seifu, Ryà «fuku-ji was originally founded by Eiso under the name of Gokuraku-ji and was re-established by Shà  En. Dana Masayuki surmises that Gokuraku-ji used to serve not only as the family mausoleum of the Eiso dynasty but as the state mausoleum tracing the royal line back to Shunten. The apparent conflict between Manju-ji and Gokuraku-ji is resolved if Manju-ji is seen as a representation of the state in relation to China while Gokuraku-ji was the manifestation of Okinawa's own narrative.
Shà  Shin established Enkaku-ji and transferred the function of the family mausoleum from Tennà Â-ji to Enkaku-ji. Shà  Shin founded another temple named Sà Âgen-ji and decided to use it as the state mausoleum while the function of Enkaku-ji was clarified as the mausoleum of the Second Shà  dynasty. He moved all ancestral tablets, starting from Shunten, to Sà Âgen-ji and thereby visualized the single line of succession based on Okinawa's own narrative.
Minamoto no Tametomo (1139âÂÂ1170), the uncle of the Kamakura shogunate's founder Minamoto no Yoritomo, has been consistently treated as the father of Shunten since the earliest official history book, the Chà «zan Seikan (1650). The earliest known association of Tametomo with Ryà «kyà « can be found in a letter written by a Zen monk in Kyoto named Gesshà « Jukei (1470âÂÂ1533) with a request by Kakuà  Chisen, another Zen monk serving to Ryà «kyà «'s Tennà Â-ji. According to a tale which Gesshà « attributed to Kakuà Â, Tametomo moved to Ryà «kyà «, used demons as servants, and became the founder of the state, which the Minamoto clan had ruled since then. The reference to demons may reflect the centuries-old Japanese Buddhist perception of Ryà «kyà « as the land of man-eating demons, as seen in, for example, the Hyà Âtà  Ryà «kyà «-koku ki (1244). Although at this stage, Tametomo was not explicitly associated with Shunten, the tale apparently circulated in the network of Zen Buddhists connecting Kyoto to Okinawa. A similar tale was recorded in the Ryà «kyà « Shintà Â-ki (1606) by Jà Âdo-shà « monk Taichà «, who visited Ryà «kyà « from 1603 to 1606. This indicates that by that time, the tale of Tametomo had been known to non-Zen Buddhists. In light of these, the apparent innovation of the Chà «zan Seikan (1650) was the explicit association of Tametomo with Shunten.
The tale of Tametomo had a profound impact on Ryà «kyà «'s self-perception. In 1691, for example, the king ordered all the male members of the royal family to use the kanji Chà  (æÂÂ) as the first of their two-character given names, presumably to indicate an affinity to Minamoto no Tametomo (æºÂçºæÂÂ).
Another innovation of the Chà «zan Seikan (1650) was the association of the foundation myth with the royal line. The foundation myth concerning the goddess Amamikyu itself was recorded in the Ryà «kyà « Shintà Â-ki (1606). However, the Chà «zan Seikan was the first to make reference to the , who supposedly descended from the goddess.
Without showing a clear genealogy, the official history books connect the Tenson dynasty remotely to the Eiso dynasty. Eiso's mother dreamed that the sun intruded into her bosom, giving a miraculous birth to Eiso, but Eiso's foster father was said to have descended from the Tenson dynasty. Similarly, Satto was said to have been mothered by a swan maiden. Shà  En was believed to have descended from Gihon of the Shunten dynasty (i.e., the second Shà  family originated from the Minamoto clan), or some other king. It is not clear why the Chà «zan Seikan did not provide a special link to the First Shà  dynasty.
The founder of the Tenson dynasty was a descendant of . The 25 generations of the Tenson dynasty ruled the land for 17,802 years, but their names are unknown.
The Shunten dynasty lasted from AD 1187 to AD 1259. In 1186, the 25th ruler's throne was usurped by Riyà «. Minamoto no Tametomo's son Shunten overthrew Riyà « the next year, becoming the king.
The Eiso dynasty lasted from AD 1260 to AD 1349. In 1259, Gihon, who was the last king of the Shunten dynasty, abdicated his throne. Fathered by the sun, Eiso succeeded him. During the reign of Tamagusuku, the state was divided into three polities. The King of Nanzan (Sannan) and the King of Hokuzan (Sanhoku) came to compete with the King of Chà «zan.
The Satto dynasty lasted from AD 1350 to AD 1405. Satto, the son of a peasant and a swan maiden, replaced Seii as the King of Chà «zan. Satto started a tributary relation to the Ming emperor.
The First Shà  dynasty lasted from AD 1429 to AD 1469. Shà  Hashi, the virtual founder of the First Shà  dynasty, overthrew Bunei in 1406. He installed his father, Shà  Shishà Â, as the nominal King of Chà «zan. Shà  Hashi annihilated the King of Hokuzan (Sanhoku) in 1416. In 1421, after the death of his father, Shà  Hashi became the King of Chà «zan. He overthrew the King of Nanzan (Sannan) until 1429, unifying the island. The surname Shà  (å°Â) was given by the Ming emperor.
The Second Shà  dynasty lasted from AD 1470 to AD 1879. When Shà  Toku, the last king of the First Shà  dynasty, died in 1469, courtiers launched a coup d'état and elected Shà  En as king. He became the founder of the Second Shà  dynasty. The kingdom was at its peak during the reign of his son, Shà  Shin. In 1609, the Satsuma Domain conquered the Ryukyu Kingdom. From then on, Ryà «kyà « was a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain, while the king was ordered to keep its tributary relation with China. The kingdom became a domain of Japan in 1872. In 1879, Japan replaced Ryukyu Domain with Okinawa Prefecture, formally annexing the islands. King Shà  Tai was dethroned and later given the title of marquis.